Franklin Pierce, byname Young Hickory
(born November 23, 1804, Hillsboro, New Hampshire, U.S.—died October 8, 1869, Concord, New Hampshire), 14th president of the United States (1853–57). He failed to deal effectively with the corroding sectional controversy over slavery in the decade preceding the American Civil War (1861–65). (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, seepresidency of the United States of America.)